The Oculus Rift is incredibly easy to set up and use

On Monday, the Oculus Rift finally started shipping to folks who pre-ordered the headset for $600 — either in February when pre-orders first went live, or years ago when Oculus launched its monumental Kickstarter campaign in 2012.

Left: The first development kit for the Oculus Rift, which shipped to Kickstarter backers. | Right: the first consumer version Oculus Rift, which shipped this week to pre-order customers. Ben Gilbert / Tech Insider

We've been using it for a week, playing VR games and watching VR movies, and we've got a quickie breakdown of how to set up the Oculus Rift and enjoy the virtual revolution already in-progress.

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First and foremost: The Oculus Rift costs $600. WHOA.

Corey Protin / Tech Insider

Normally I wouldn't start this with a price, but good lord is that a high price for a video game peripheral. Okay, I'm selling the Rift a bit short: It's a platform unto itself, not just a peripheral device. But also we're talking about $600.

You get everything you see above (plus one item that's not pictured):

- The Oculus Rift headset - The Oculus Sensor, a camera for tracking the headset's movement - The Oculus Remote, a small remote for quickly navigating menus while using the Rift - An Xbox One gamepad, for playing games

It's a good deal for such high-end electronics, no doubt, but still a lot of money for anyone to drop on a luxury product.

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And that doesn't include the high-end computer you'll need to run it. No MacBooks here — the Oculus Rift is PC only, and bleeding edge PCs at that.

Corey Protin / Tech Insider

Let's be clear: The Oculus Rift is not a standalone device. It's a headset that's powered by a very, very powerful computer. I don't mean that the Rift gets electricity from the PC — I mean that you only experience things in the Rift through a computer. It pumps video into the headset.

We were sent the Asus G20CB computer seen above — here it is in a bundle with the Rift— which costs about $1,500. You could build a capable PC to run the Rift for less (about $1,000). That's still a lot of money!

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But there's good news too: the headset is comfy and light, easy to put on and easy to wear.

Corey Protin

At just over one pound, the Oculus Rift isn't exactly a strain on your neck. It's easy to put on: Simply slide it onto the back of your head, like a baseball cap, and lower the front over your eyes. Easy!

There are three straps (one on each side, one on top) that you adjust at setup and then never have to worry about ever again. Why's that? Because there's a simple mechanism built into the front of the headset that allows you to easy pull it away from your face without having to take off the straps. It's a bit hard to explain, but it's basically a spring-loaded system that keeps the headset close to your eyes.

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Setting up the headset with your PC is easy, too!

Ben Gilbert / Tech Insider

The headset and camera connect with just three wires: two USB 3.0 plugs and one HDMI. You can hook them up before turning on your computer, or when it's on. Oculus VR thankfully made the process simple for pretty much anyone — no computer genius required.

If you want, you can wait for the Oculus setup app to tell you when to plug in the headset and camera, or you can just plug it in the minute you unpack the Rift.

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WARNING: THE HEADSET WIRE IS REMOVABLE!

During the week of use we had with the Rift, it became unresponsive at one point. After resetting the computer and uninstalling all Rift software, reinstalling, etc., it still wouldn't show up as connected to the computer. It turns out that the wire coming out of the headset isn't wired directly into the headset — it's plugged in. If this happens to you, we recommend removing the padding around the lenses and checking to see if the wire coming out of the headset is loose.

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The software is Apple-esque in its ease of use.

Oculus VR

The Oculus setup application is crazy easy. You open it up and it guides you through a series of steps, but it's the kind of easy stuff you'd do when turning on an iPhone for the first time. It explains where you should put the camera, and how space around you should be clear. It walks you through the (brief) process of setting up an Oculus ID — your username within the Rift and on the Oculus Store — and how to calibrate the headset so what you're seeing is as focused as possible.

The setup app is so good, in fact, that it knew I had already gone through setup and offered the options you see above instead of starting from zero.

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The Oculus Store is just as delightfully simple.

Oculus VR

Once you've set up your Rift, there are two sections in the Oculus app: Store and Library. You can buy games, or you can look at the ones you have. It's intentionally bare for ease of navigation. No flitting around looking for this or that — it's all right in front of you.

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Jumping into VR is as easy as opening the Oculus app and putting on the Rift headset. That's it!

Oculus

1. Turn the Oculus application on. 2. Slide the headset on like a baseball cap — back first, then pull down the front over your eyes — and you're in. 3. That's it!

It is blessedly simple using the Oculus Rift headset once you've got it set up.

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The first thing you'll be greeted with is a beautiful, futuristic house. This is the Oculus Home app.

There's a roaring fire in a fireplace to your left, but you can't see it in this image unfortunately. Oculus says virtual pets and different homes are in the app's future.
Oculus VR

Fittingly, Oculus Home is a virtual apartment — a virtual apartment owned by a devil may care rebel who keeps their fancy rug all rumpled and a stack of books organized carefully on the floor.

Regardless. Oculus Home is easy to navigate: Simply look at what you want to select and click select on the Oculus Remote or on the included Xbox One gamepad.

Your friends list is displayed to the right, and you can even shop for new games, movies and other stuff right from the VR menu. You could use the Oculus app on your desktop if you wanted, but using the VR version is all the easier.

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That's that: When you jump into a game, you'll see it in the headset you're wearing. You're going there!

You can expect gorgeous games like "EVE Valkyrie," seen above.
CCP GAmes

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Adorable platformer "Lucky's Tale" should be familiar to anyone who's played a "Super Mario" game.

Playful

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The best game I've played on the Oculus Rift is a gorgeous adventure game called "Windlands."

Psytec Games Ltd

"Windlands" is a game about flying through the air, collecting crystals, and exploring a fantastical world. Some folks get sick while playing it — the disconnect between what your brain is seeing (you flying through the air) and what your body is doing (sitting in a chair) is enough to cause motion sickness in some people. I've luckily not experienced that issue, and simply enjoy the madness.

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There are plenty of other games at launch — around 30 — and a variety of movies and 360-degree videos. They range in price from free to $60.

This is the short VR film "Henry," created by Oculus VR's Oculus Story Studio.
Oculus VR

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All in all, the Oculus Rift is an incredible device... if you're willing to shell out a ton of money. It's early days still, and VR is just getting started. But it's a great start!